24:1 Joash was seven years old when he began to reign. He reigned for forty years in Jerusalem. His mother was Zibiah, who was from Beer Sheba. 

 

Jehoiada the High Priest actually ruled Judah until Joash became of age. Joash’s mother was mentioned, because she aided in his instruction. Beer Sheba was the town of Abraham. 

 

24:2 Joash did what the Lord approved throughout the lifetime of Jehoiada the priest. 

 

As long as Jehoiada the High Priest was alive, Joash behaved himself.

 

24:3 Jehoiada chose two wives for him who gave him sons and daughters. 

 

The Holy Spirit was not approving of polygamy. He was just recording what happened during the reign of Joash, warts and all. Most ancient secular history does not record the warts of its kings. The Bible does, because it is inspired by God. Ancient court reporters would have never written about the warts of their king. They wanted to keep their heads.

 

24:4 Joash was determined to repair the Lord’s temple.

 

The temple was getting old and worn out. Would the people use their own finances to repair the temple, or would they spend their money on selfish interests?

 

24:5 He assembled the priests and Levites and ordered them, “Go out to the cities of Judah and collect the annual quota of silver from all Israel for repairs on the temple of your God. Be quick about it!” But the Levites delayed. 

 

The Levites failed to collect the temple tax from the people. The Levites were beginning to become less zealous about their special calling.

 

24:6 So the king summoned Jehoiada the chief priest, and said to him, “Why have you not made the Levites collect from Judah and Jerusalem the tax authorized by Moses the Lord’s servant and by the assembly of Israel at the tent containing the tablets of the law?”

 

King Joash questioned the High Priest Jehoiada about neglecting his responsibilities.

 

24:7 (Wicked Athaliah and her sons had broken into God’s temple and used all the holy items of the Lord’s temple in their worship of the Baals.) 

 

Athaliah had stripped the temple of its utensils and used them for Satan worship.

 

24:8 The king ordered a chest to be made and placed outside the gate of the Lord’s temple.

 

A chest was placed outside of the temple. The purpose of the chest was to collect money for temple repair.

 

24:9 An edict was sent throughout Judah and Jerusalem requiring the people to bring to the Lord the tax that Moses, God’s servant, imposed on Israel in the wilderness.

 

An edict was sent through the nation, reminding the people of their temple tax.

 

24:10 All the officials and all the people gladly brought their silver and threw it into the chest until it was full. 

 

The people responded positively to the edict.

 

24:11 Whenever the Levites brought the chest to the royal accountant and they saw there was a lot of silver, the royal scribe and the accountant of the high priest emptied the chest and then took it back to its place. They went through this routine every day and collected a large amount of silver.

 

Notice that two people always counted the money. This divine accoumtimg method prevented theft and prevented innocent people from being accused of theft.

 

24:12 The king and Jehoiada gave it to the construction foremen assigned to the Lord’s temple. They hired carpenters and craftsmen to repair the Lord’s temple, as well as those skilled in working with iron and bronze to restore the Lord’s temple. 

 

Skilled craftsmen were hired to repair the temple.

 

24:13 They worked hard and made the repairs. They followed the measurements specified for God’s temple and restored it.

 

The temple was repaired with the contributions of the congregation and the hard work of the skilled craftsmen.

 

24:14 When they were finished, they brought the rest of the silver to the king and Jehoiada. They used it to make items for the Lord’s temple, including items used in the temple service and for burnt sacrifices, pans, and various other gold and silver items. Throughout Jehoiada’s lifetime, burnt sacrifices were offered regularly in the Lord’s temple. 

 

There was enough money to replace the utensils which Athaliah had removed for her Satan worship. As long as Jehoiada the High Priest was alive, burnt offerings were sacrificed at the Temple. All of these burnt offerings pointed to the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

24:15 Jehoiada grew old and died at the age of 130.

 

The High Priest died at the age of 130 years old. This was a long time to live in that day. Jehovah needed Jehoiada’s service during this chaotic time of Israel, so Jehovah extended Jehoiada’s life. Things would not go well for Judah after Jehoiada’s death.

 

24:16 He was buried in the City of David with the kings, because he had accomplished good in Israel and for God and his temple. 

 

Jehoiada’s office of High Priest was such a positive influence to Judah, that he was given a royal burial and buried in the royal graveyard.

 

24:17 After Jehoiada died, the officials of Judah visited the king and declared their loyalty to him. The king listened to their advice.

 

The officials of Judah declared their loyalty to King Joash. They had some advice for the king, but it was not very good advice. 

 

24:18 They abandoned the temple of the Lord God of their ancestors, and worshiped the Asherah poles and idols. Because of this sinful activity, God was angry with Judah and Jerusalem. 

 

The leaders advised King Joash to allow them to return to the worship of false idols.

 

24:19 The Lord sent prophets among them to lead them back to him. They warned the people, but they would not pay attention. 

 

Joel was most likely one of the prophets who was sent  to Judah during this time.

 

24:20 God’s Spirit energized Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood up before the people and said to them, “This is what God says: ‘Why are you violating the commands of the Lord? You will not be prosperous! Because you have rejected the Lord, he has rejected you!’ ” 

 

Zechariah was the son of the former High Priest who saved Joash from death. Jehoiada also coronated him as king and led Judah into a revival of worshiping the one true God. 

 

Zechariah was not a seeker-friendly prophet. He stepped into the royal courtroom and accused King Joash of sinning against the Mosaic Law.

 

24:21 They plotted against him and by royal decree stoned him to death in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple. 

 

The king and his new advisers did not like to hear prophets who did not tickle their ears. They stoned him to death. This may have been the martyred Zechariah whom Jesus mentioned in the gospels.

 

24:22 King Joash disregarded the loyalty his father Jehoiada had shown him and killed Jehoiada’s son. As Zechariah was dying, he said, “May the Lord take notice and seek vengeance!” 

 

Jehoiada saved Joash from death and risked his life to make Joash king. Joash responded by killing Jehoiada’s son. The seed of David was becoming corrupt, but God would still preserve them because of His promise to David.

 

24:23 At the beginning of the year the Syrian army attacked Joash and invaded Judah and Jerusalem. They wiped out all the leaders of the people and sent all the plunder they gathered to the king of Damascus. 

 

When Joash killed a prophet of God, then he brought upon the curses of the Mosaic Covenant upon his people. Syria attacked Judah. Syria killed the leaders of Judah who established idolatry in Judah. Syria then plundered Judah, stripping then of their material prosperity. Judah was reduced to poverty once again.

 

24:24 Even though the invading Syrian army was relatively weak, the Lord handed over to them Judah’s very large army, for the people of Judah had abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors. The Syrians gave Joash what he deserved.

 

Here is an example where a small, weak, Gentile army overcame a large, more powerful, Jewish army. David could never be beaten by a foreign nation, because David was obedient to God and he trusted God for deliverance.

 

24:25 When they withdrew, they left Joash badly wounded. His servants plotted against him because of what he had done to the son of Jehoiada the priest. They murdered him on his bed. Thus he died and was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings. 

 

Joash was disobedient to God, injured, murdered, and buried outside of the royal tombs.

 

24:26 The conspirators were Zabad son of Shimeath (an Ammonite woman) and Jehozabad son of Shimrith (a Moabite woman). 

 

The Ammonites and Moabites were descendants from the incestuous relationship between Lot and his two daughters. These two races combined Judaism with the teachings of Sodom and Gomorrah. David’s great grandmother was Ruth the Moabite. Joash was assassinated by the women of the descendants of these two half-breed tribes.

 

24:27 The list of Joash’s sons, the many prophetic oracles pertaining to him, and the account of his building project on God’s temple are included in the record of the Scroll of the Kings. His son Amaziah replaced him as king. 

 

This book was available to the Chronicles author at the time of his authorship, but it is no longer available today.